Note to readers: The story below has been debunked as a hoax. We've kept the original story below to fess up that we messed up. We were duped, and we will work harder to verify sources and stories for readers in the future. We apologize.

We totally understand showing off the features and benefits with regards to selling a product, but when it comes to public roads, there are better places to clock outrageous speeds. A Dodge salesman saw his test drive backfire after Florida Highway Patrol clocked him doing 148 mph in a Dodge Charger Hellcat on a local highway.

"But, the title says he was doing 180 mph," you're thinking, aren't you? He eventually did clock 180 mph after flashing lights were seen in the rearview mirror. According to local news affiliate Channel 22 News (Note to readers: we removed the link here because the story is bogus), highway patrol terminated pursuit after speeds climbed in excess of 180 mph.

So, let's round this up for you. The salesman (in Florida, no less) was going well over twice the legal speed limit when initially clocked and then accelerated faster after highway patrol got involved. The customer interested in the Charger Hellcat was merely a passenger during all of this.

Although highway patrol lost the Dodge salesman, they did get a read on the dealer plates, which were traced back to Thunder Dodge in Bartow, not too far from Tampa. Returning from his test drive turned joy ride, the salesman was met by the highway patrol and was placed under arrest on charges of reckless driving.

The salesman was later released on bail at the expense of the customer hours later. At this time, it's not clear if he earned the customer's business when all was said and done. If anything, we think the salesman owes the customer a solid after bailing him out.

We get it. These are very impressive, fast machines. But don't show them off on public roads, much like another driver did when piling his buddies into a Challenger Hellcat in Indiana. High speeds are never safe, even if there's little to no traffic. Those speeds are for closed courses, folks.